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The wedding?
25
Brit Blaise
Chapter Four
And to think I believed being confronted by Donald s new woman was
embarrassing. Oh, God! What do I do now? She looked around the crowded
kitchen and all the people in Paul s life.
Everyone believed the monkey going up her skirt meant she and Paul
had sex? What could she say? She couldn t deny having sex. Why did they
jump to the mistaken conclusion that the next step was marriage? She did the
math. Man-plus-woman-plus-sex-plus-monkey equals marriage? Huh.
And Paul didn t seem the least bit phased by what his family thought
about her. In fact, he seemed downright pleased with himself. What did that
reveal about his character? It wasn t as if she was a good judge& Donald.
 Here, eat this. Connie handed Paul a plate of assorted raw vegetables.
Turning to Tina she explained,  He never eats right. If he s not careful, he ll
cause himself some serious health problems. His stomach is already a mess.
As his wife, you ll need to watch that.
 I think you re a bit premature. A bit? These people were loony.  We
just met.
 Tina s right. Enough of the marriage talk. And there s nothing wrong
with my stomach, Paul grumbled as he started shoving a stalk of broccoli into
his mouth.  See, he muttered.
 My brother needs someone to take care of him, his sister said when she
joined them carrying a huge bowl of noodles.  We have been worrying about
him because it s taken him so long to find a wife.
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Monkey Business
Tina didn t know what to say. How could they possibly think Paul
wanted to marry her? The man she d been with for five years didn t want to
marry her, so why did they believe Paul would?
Didn t they realize Paul could have any woman he wanted?
 Would you like some noodles? Paul s sister offered the bowl to Tina.
Tina waved the offer away.  No, thank you. I ll wait for the burger Paul
promised me& I mean& are we still going for a burger?
Everyone stopped talking to stare at her. The kitchen seemed to shrink
in size. Paul s mother stopped stirring a pot on her daughter-in-law s stove.
Tina inched down in her chair.
Paul laughed.  We made plans to go out. Alone. Together. Without any
of you.
 Ahhh, Paul s mother agreed with a sage nod, and everyone started
talking again.
Relief washed over Tina.
 No! Paul yelped, startling her.  I just got paged.
Tina watched him pull a small blinking phone from his pocket. It hadn t
occurred to her that he could be called away by a medical emergency. Dear,
God! He wouldn t dare leave her with the family of aliens!
 It s the hospital. I ll bet it s Emily Kerry s time to deliver. Paul turned
to her.  Come with me?
Tina had no clue what she would do in the hospital while Paul delivered
a baby. But, as she looked around the room, she carefully considered the
alternative...alone time with his family.
 I m going. She jumped from her chair and rushed to the door before
anyone could stop her.  It was so nice to meet all of you.
Paul followed her to the car, and she handed him the keys while Paul s
brother moved the station wagon.  Should I drive?
 We ll take my Jeep, Paul called to his brother and pulled her toward a
small green Jeep parked off to the side.
After he helped her into her seat, he leaned close.  Does my family make
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Brit Blaise
you jumpy? This was pretty good behavior for them. Trust me. It could have
been a lot worse.
Then he kissed her.
The kiss was short, but sweet.  Baby time! he whispered with
excitement sparkling in his eyes.
She sat back and enjoyed the ride.
What should have been the worst day of her life remarkably hadn t been.
So far, it had in fact been& unusual& to say the least. But she still had to
wonder what this gorgeous guy was doing with her.
Paul wheeled into a space bearing a name plaque with his department
title and prestigious medical initials.  Sit still, he ordered while he opened his
door.
Tina thought maybe he wanted her to wait in the Jeep while he took care
of business. When he walked around to open her car door, she smiled at her
erroneous assumption. What else would she discover about this handsome
doctor?
 Right this way, he said.  If we re lucky this shouldn t take long.
 Don t you mean if the mother is lucky, it shouldn t take long?
Paul stopped in the middle of the walkway and pulled her into his arms [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]